Identification holder



Oct. 17, 1944. T MUNGEN IDENTIFICATION HOLDER Filed March 12, 1941 wiilrrlwlru INVENTOR `heodore Mungen ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 17, 1944 IDNTIFCATION HOLDER I *v-*Theodore Mungen, Abington,` Pa.,`asrsgno1 to Edward G.

Budd `Manufacturing Company, I

Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsyl- Application March 12, 1941, serial No. 382,887

' 7 claims. (c1. io- 1.5) l

, This invention .relates to a device constituting a combined badge and holder, and particularly to suchA device associated With license papers and the like.

In certain endeavors, such as hunting and fishing at certain places, it is required that a license be had, and that a, badgeA be worn as an indication of such license.

Where a separate license paper and'identifying bad-ge are employed, it iseasy4 to lose or misplace one or the other, so that absence of the badge Would'likely attract attention and cause delay and inconvenience inA numerous instances, and failure to have possession of the license paper, even wherethe badge iscarried, While probably caus- -ing fewer interruptions, wouldI likely render them of greater extent and trouble.

The use of separate licensev papers and identifying badges ,also entails a double record ofr the samegrant, so that unnecessary personnel, work Aand material are required by the issuing authorities. y

To meet vthese problems, the practice has been established ,wherebyr the licensee wears an element having a window and forming also aholder or container for the license paper, in which the device is completed as a badgeby portions of the paper showing through the window.

The papers usually being of greater area` than any single ply card which mightl be encased' in any'y holder of desirablebadge size, it has also been the practice toprovide foldable` papers each with a special area such that, when-the paper is folded in acertain way, this ployed as the face of thebadge.

,i vPara@'marit, during hunting 'andi asking, the

badges yare subjected to possibledamage by water, so that a license-hold'enofthe type ,indicated should be .elfectively protected against damage to the license paperfrom this cause.

.r since it is not Ordinariiy 'desirame to hernieucally seal a badge in-a manner'whereby theseal or badge must be destroyed to release the paper, badges removably holding .the papers havefbeen ,devised which, incertain cases, protect the papers reasonably well, Vbut arem'ore complicated yand ldevice of the invention hereof.

1dillicultto manufacture and assemble than the 'Among the adverse features of the` former devices are; diliicult manipulation in inserting .and

vwithdrawing the papers, the necessity for bending Icertain. partsA of the holders, undue thickness', the

easy`v distortionfof, parts, shapes that are unsightly lorfhardto Yfor n'1","th e necessity for using imple- 'meintsto aid or eifect the removal operation', and other annoyance, expense or delay.

areaAcan be ein- I Accordingly, it is among the objects lof the invention hereof to overcome .all of the abovementioned `andfotherf-adverse features of former devices, and to do so in a manner thatnot only renders the device an improvement in features of construction and manipulation, but also renders it more economical and desirable in other ways.

Another object of4 the invention' is to simplify the form of the lparts for ease and economy of manufacture, and vto reduce the holder to substantially minimum thickness.

Another object of the invention lis to facilitate placing a license element in, and removing it from, a badge-holder, wherein the parts of thev more ornate, compact and durable.

Another object'of the invention is to provide a holder of the above-indicated character that shall protected against injury in other ways.

`A further vobject of the invention is to provide facombined badge andhold'er that shall be simple rand durablein construction, economical to manufacture, and effective in'its operation.

With such objects in. View, as well as other advantages which may be incident to a utilization ofthe improvements, the invention comprises the elements and combinations thereof hereinafter set forth in the drawing, specification and claims,

.with ythe understanding that the several neces- -sary elements constituting the same may be varied in proportion, arrangement, texture and operation, without departing from the nature and scope of the invention.` n To make the invention more clearly understood, means are shown in the accompanying drawing for carrying the same intov practical effect, without klimiting the improvements in the useful applications thereof to the particular constructions `and operations which, for the purpose of explanation, are made the subject of illustration.

' In 'the drawing: f

Fig. 1 is a front-face view of a combined badge and holder constructed in vaccordance vWithone be substantially waterand weather-proof, and

Vseenin Fig. 6, the portions example of the invention, showing the parts in finally assembled position, with a license element therein;

Fig. 2 is a similar View, showing the license element in place in a back member of the device, and the front and back members partially assembled during an ,intermediate stage of inserting or removing the license element;

Fig. 3 is a rear View of the device as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a view, in enlarged section, taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view, also in enlarged section, taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.;

Fig. 6 is the same section `as the right-hand portion of Fig. 5 but on a still larger scale; and

Fig. 7 is a section similar to Fig. 6 of a modified embodiment.

The device comprises, in general, a front window frame element 1, a rear or window-backing element 3, a safety pin I8 secured to the rear element 8 for attaching the ydevice to the clothing of a user, a card. or folded license paper I2 or the like next to the rear element `Il, a transparent sheet window panel or panel I4 next to the frame element 1. Means constituting -a salienil feature of the structure, for automatically locking the members 1` and 8 to, and releasing the same from, each other, will be described later on.

The frame 1 is constructed of thin resilient sheet material, such as sheet metal, of substantially fiat plane rectangular shape having three margins or edge portions I1, I8 and I9 of channel section facing inwardly of the frame in the direction of its plane. Y

The corner portions 2l, at the intersections of the channel I8 with the channels I1 and I9 constitute continuations of said side channels and are rounded in the plane of the frame to avoid exposing pointed corners and sharp edges of the thin sheet.

The rear channel sides are narrower than the front channel sides and have cut-outs 20 of their inner margins at the corner portions 2|, to permit these corner portions to be more readily and smoothly formed.

The fourth margin 22 of the front or frame member 1, has a portion 23 folded rearwardly back on itself about a bend 24, see Figures 2, 5 and 6 whereby to clamp the transparent panel I4 at its adjacent margin against the rear side of the frame margin 22. The bend 24 is extended forwardly, or out of the plane of the frame, to act as a detent or catch for the rear member 8, as will further appear. Asa modification, the portion 23 may be omitted,land a simple single ply forwardly extendingv portion of the sheet material of the yframe provided in the place of the bend 24; this is shown in Figure '7 and described later on.

The backing element 8 is of substantially flat plane rectangular shape having a rearwardlyextending flat depression 2S of a depth and outline corresponding closely to the thickness and edge contour of the card I2. Three of the margins of the element 8-the margins 26-are substantially exclusively in a common plane to slidably fit into the channels I1, I8 and I8. The fourth margin 21 has its main body likewise arranged in about the same plane but has in addition a forwardly return bent portion 28 of substantially half-circular section, said portion being continued by an angleor V-section portion having a free arm 29 and an apex 30. As best 28, 29, 30.act as a bers 1 and 8,

latch for the detent or catch 24. The portion 28 may be used as a handle for releasing the latch from the detent.

The cross-sectional rounding of the cooperating bend 24 and apex portion 3D, enables these elements to be gradually led into, and removed from, locking relation to each other, by lateral resilient exure of the latch 21, which flexure is automatically responsive to sliding the members 1 .and 8 relative to each other.

The detent or bend 24 and latch 28, 29, 38 therefore constitute a slip release lock against accidental sliding relative movement of the membut enable both the locking and releasing actions to occur easily and automatically solely in response to such slidingaction. The license paper, being completely surrounded by close-fitting' water-impervious parts resiliently biased together, is thereby very effectively protected against damage by moisture.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 7, where 1'l designates the frame, 8' the rear element, fI2' the card, folded license paper or the like and I4 the transparent panel, the frame margin 22' has a forwardly extended detent or catch 24. The margin 21 has, as in the rst embodiment, a forwardly return bent portion 28' of substantially part-circular section conitinued by an angleor V-section portion with a free arm 2'9" and an apex 3U.

In former devices, any known loc kfor the corresponding purpose either requires flexing of certain of the parts laterally of the plane of the device prior to, and necessary for, effecting the sliding release, or entails damaging distortive bending of elements, and is lnot automatically responsive solely and directly to sliding movement for unlocking the members.

The depressed portion 26 has, in a construction heretofore known, a further rearwardly depressed front opening channel portion 32 of tortuous plan for the reception of a correspondingly tortuous rear leg 3| of the pin Ill, to prevent turning of the latter about a lengthwise axis. A guard 33, and a coil 34, of the pin I0, protrude rearwardly from the back member through openings 35 and 36, respectively, in the member, in substantially snap-fastener relation to edges of the openings 35 and 3B for holding the pin in position.

What is claimed is:

1. A holder of the class described having front and back members of substantially rectangular flat plane shape, the front memberhaving a window opening and including marginal channels on three sides facing inwardly of the plane thereof and a fourth side having a rearwardly return bent marginal portion, a transparent panel having three margins thereof seated in said channels and the fourth margin clamped between the fourth side and its said return bent portion, the back member having a main body depressed below the margins thereof to receive a flat member, three margins of said back mem- `ber being in the same plane and arranged to be slid from the fourth end of the front member into the marginal channels thereof, the fourth side of each of said back and front members being provided with a marginal locking portion cooperating with the locking portion of the other to lock the members together when assembled.

2. A holder of the class described having front and back members of substantially at plane rectangular shape, the front member constituting a frame having a window opening and marginal channels facing inwardly of the frame in the plane of the member at three sides thereof and a fourth side having a marginal bend projecting forwardly beyond its front face, a transparent panel having three margins thereof nested in said channels and a fourth margin underlying the fourth side of the front member, the margins of said back member being in about the same plane for sliding 'three of them in the marginal channels and the fourth margin behind the fourth side of the front member, the fourth margin having a forwardly extending return bend, said marginal portion and said bend of the fourth side olf the frame being adapted for slip release locking relation, 3. In a holder of the class described, a front member of substantially rectangular flat plane shape having three edge channels facing inwardly of its plane and a fourth edge area bent forwardly, a rectangular back member having a card receptacle depressed rearwardly from the margins thereof with three of said margins slidably fitting said edge channels and the fourth margin having a portion return bent such that, when the back member is slid into the front member from the fourth edge thereof to operative position, said return bent portion is interlocked in slip release relation to said forwardly bent area.

4. In a relatively thin flat holder of the class described, a front window frame member of resilient thin sheet material of substantially rectangular shape having three edge channels facing inwardly of the frame in the vplane of the holder, said channels having front side walls wider than the back side Walls and joined by corner portions of the sheet rounded in the plane thereof and turnedrearwardly at the outer edges, said Icorner portionsv constituting continuations of the front channel sides, the rear channel sides having cut-outs at the corresponding corners, the fourth margin of said member including a rearwardly returnbent portion having itsbend forwardly extended and constituting ay detent,

a rear member of thin sheet resilient material of substantially flat plane rectangular shape depressed rearwardly within its margins to' accommodate a card between the front and rear members and having three coplanar margins for closely slidably fitting said channels and a fourth margin forwardly return bent of substantially S-section to constitute both a latch for said detent and a handle for releasing the latch from the detent at the front side of the holder, and a transparent panel having three margins for seating in said channels and a fourth margin clamped under said return bent margin of the front member.

5. A holder of the class described having front and back members of substantially flat plane shape, the front member having a window opening and including marginal channels on three sides facing toward the middle of the opening and a fourth side arranged substantially in front of the plane defined by the inner surface of the front walls of said channels, a transparent panel having three margins Athereof seated in said channels and its fourth margin covered by said fourth side of the front member, the back member having a main body depressed below the margins thereof to receive a flat member, the margins of said back member being in about the same plane and arranged to be slid from the fourth end of the front member into the marginal channels thereof, the width of said channels being about equal to the combined thickness of the transparent panel and the marginal portions of the back member so as to permit sliding but firmlyhold the ymargins of the transparent panel panel.

and of the back member in said channels of the front member.

6. In a relatively thin flat holder of the class described, a irontl window frame member having three edge channels facing toward the center of the frame, and fourth generally flat side ar.

ranged substantially in front of the plane defined by the rear face of the frontwalls of said channels, a substantially flat rear member of a shape in plane View corresponding to the outlines` of the front member, said rear member being depressed rearwardly within all its margins to accommodate a card between the front and rear members and having three coplanar margins for closely slidably fitting said channels and a fourth margin forwardly return bend constituting a channel adapted to receive slidingly said fourth side of the yfront member.

7. In a relatively thinv flat holder of the class described, a transparent panel, a front Window frame member having three edge channels'facing inwardly of the frame in the plane of the holder, the fourth side of said front member being generally flat, a substantially flat rear memberof thin sheet material of a shape corresponding to the shape of saidfront member being depressed rearwardly within its margins to accommodate a card between the front and rear members and having three coplanar narrow margins, the width of said channels being about equal to the combined thickness of one of said three margins of the rear member and of said transparent panel for closely slidably fitting said channels, a, fourth margin of said rear member being forwardly return bent so as to slidably receive the said fourth side of said front member and the adjacent margin of the transparent THEoDoRE MUNGEN. 

